Blue Ox Review

from the Curator of the Kerlan Collection

Latest Blog Posts

Please join us for A Celebration of Life — JoAnn Jonas, on Sunday May 17. The celebration will be held via an online Zoom Meeting, at 3:00 p.m., Eastern; 2:00 p.m., Central; 1:00 p.m., Mountain; and 12:00 p.m., Pacific time.

Holly from Red Balloon and I will be on MPR this morning at 11:00 am talking to Angela Davis about children's books and being at home during the pandemic. https://www.mprnews.org/episode/2020/04/24/davis-books-for-kids-stuck-at-home I've been thinking about books. I've been thinking...

Princess Black Case of the Coronavirus By Shannon and Dean Hale Illustrated by LeUyen Phan Candlewick Press From LeUyen Phan on Facebook: "Been wanting to send this out there for a while... If you’ve got a Princess in Black fan...

We celebrate the consortium of higher education and public institutions that recently announced "One Book | One Minnesota," a new statewide book club that will feature Kate DiCamillo's book, "Because of Winn-Dixie." In honor of DiCamillo, we offer this 2014 conversation between the author and Lisa Von Drasek.

I Had Ambitious Plans For The Sequester I was going to interview educators to help parents facilitate learning at home. I interviewed one. Mollie Welsh Kruger, Supervised Fieldwork Advisor and Course Instructor from the Bank Street...

The online world is hosting a wake — for prolific children’s book creator Tomie dePaola, 85, who died from surgical complications on March 30. Thousands of teachers, librarians, authors, and illustrators whom he mentored in classrooms, conferences, and on-line are posting on Twitter, Facebook, and blogs. These messages speak to how Tomie and his work filled the world with his generosity, joy, and kindness. “To be with Tomie felt like you were his close friend.” says Lisa Von Drasek, Curator of the U’s Kerlan Collection of Children’s Literature.

Children's Book Creators, Publishers, Librarians, Teachers A pandemic was announced. Schools were closing. People were asked to stay home. Not surprising Children's book creators-writers and artists Educators-teachers and librarians Children's book community- publishers and bookstores wanted to provide the best...

2020 Mathical Winners Announced 2020 Mathical Book Award Winners for Ages 2-18 Berkeley, CA – March 12, 2020 — From online gaming to middle school math journaling, from pigeons on a wire to chickens in a coop, this year’s...

I am sharing a message for 826 National "In your community and across the world, educators are banding together to navigate uncharted, historic territory in response to COVID-19. As we write this, UNESCO reports that...

Many librarians, authors, and illustrators thought it would be great to have children's book creators reading aloud to families at home. Here is Bruce Hale. How do I know Bruce Hale? I first met Bruce Hale through...

I am gathering content from the internet. This video is from KidLit TV. Stephanie Calmenson Stephanie Calmenson is one of my favorite authors of picture books for young children. Her words sing off the page. The...

A Consolidated List of Children's Book Authors Olivia Van Ledtje @thelivbits Reader, thinker, kid voice Podcast: The KidLit Show @pinnaaudio and author of: Spark Change (MOMitered acct) has consolidated a list of children's book authors and illustrators who are reading...

COVID19 For Facts and Information https://www.continuum.umn.edu/2020/03/covid-19-facts-and-books/ Social Distancing https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/11/science/coronavirus-terms-to-know.html Social distancing From the New York Times: "The virus can easily spread in dense places — in a packed subway car, for example, or at a rally or concert. Social distancing...

Book Recommendations and University of Minnesota Information Book Recommendations What are germs? How do we get sick? Germs Make Me Sick! (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2) by Melvin Berger illustrated by Marylin Hafner 2015 Ages 4 and up AND Germs:...

What is the Bologna Children's Book Fair? For 57 years BCBF has been the premiere international event for children's publishing. Every spring the universe of books, illustration and multimedia contents are featured in Bologna, Italy,...

This guide to comics for kids is an essential tool for all those who enjoy comics. Simple cartooning basics are outlined with easy examples to follow. kids, parents, teachers, and librarians will love the humorous step-by-step lessons by master cartoonist and teacher Ivan Brunetti. Even reluctant artists will be inspired to pick up a pen and give it a try.

To Reserve Your Seat For the Kerlan Award with Jon Scieszka go to https://www.continuum.umn.edu/reg/reservations-kerlan-award-ceremony/ The Kerlan Award is given annually by the Friends of the Kerlan Collection in recognition of singular attainments in the creation of children’s...

This is an annotated list of current titles recommended for purchase. I appreciated the short descriptions in Spanish and English and the recommended ages for reading aloud and sharing. The selections range from books for...

Children’s Literary Obituaries: What We Lost in 2019 Betsy Bird over at School Library Journal has shown a light on a few children's literature creators who have left "earthly bonds" this past year. What I...

John Borger, 1951- 2019 John Borger, was one of the nation’s preeminent first amendment lawyers, spending four decades before retiring from the Faegre Baker Daniels law firm in 2017, protecting the freedom of...

The Blue Ox Review

The Blue Ox Review features reviews of children’s and young adult books. It also includes links to news and events of interest to children’s book people, heads up for sleeper titles that may have been missed in crowded publication years, children’s literature related curriculum, and cool stuff from Archives and Special Collections at the University of Minnesota.

Did you know that Minnesota is the mythic home of Paul Bunyan? The delightful spot art of Babe the Blue Ox is by award-winning illustrator, Megan Montague Cash.

About the Curator

Lisa Von Drasek is the Curator of the Children's Literature Research Collections. Formerly the Children's Librarian of the Bank Street College of Education, she was the teacher/librarian for pre-k through 8th grade as well as a teacher of Children's Literature, Storytelling, and Children's Book Publishing.

Lisa has lectured on the topics of Writing Boxes: the Reading/Writing Connection in Libraries, Emergent Literacy, Diversity in Children's Literature, Comics and Literacy, the New Adult, and Children's Choice Awards.